Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays! It's Christmas Eve and I am finally getting excited for the holiday. I am one of those procrastinators who waits until the very last minute possible to do shopping. Thank God for online shopping! It has made my life much easier over the past few years. Last night, I actually ventured to the mall since Kay Bee Toys is going out of business. It was much, much better than I anticipated. Although the selection was limited, I was able to find some great toys he would enjoy. I can't wait to see his reaction as he opens the gifts. We have, for weeks, been threatening to send Santa a text to let him know he does not need to stop by on Christmas when Josh starts to misbehave. He of course can read now and stands over my shoulder and I type the text. It's actually kind of funny how fast he whips into shape. Tonight he even helped me clean the kitchen after dinner.

Earlier today, Josh said he had "a great idea" which was to take an afternoon nap. He joined me in the recliner and slept for 2 hours. I was thankful for that time. God knows he does not sit still for very long so to be able to just hold him and study him was a blessing. That is something I have not done in quite a while.

On Sunday, evil SIL had a gathering at her home for nice SIL, Vickie. There is a long history of evil SIL's evilness and that would be several pages in itself so I will try to keep it as brief as possible. She goes out of her way to hurt feelings and belittle people. Greg insists that I should just let it roll off but if I do that, she will just continue her horrible behaviour. Anyway, Greg and my BILs were watching football and evil SIL wanted everyone to play a game. The guys were not interested and evil SIL actually threw a tantrum and went as far to say that everyone should do want the host wants and we were in her "bleeping" house. Josh was sitting right there and she did not care. She wanted to have another gathering tonight, Christmas Eve, but I told Greg nooooo way. He agreed, thanks goodness.

On the ttc front, I am in the waiting period, I believe. My cycles are so wacky though so timing is challenging. I can only hope and pray for the creation of a special holiday gift.

Investigation Has Been Completed

I'm in the clear. :-). The insurance company is paying the claims, Thank God! School is out for three weeks starting tomorrow. I don't have any plans as of yet with Josh and need to think of some fun things to do. The grades are in on the psych class I just completed. I got a B. My hope is take two classes during the intersession and then two more classes in the spring semester. Then, I will be done with my prereqs for the Nursing program. How am I gonna do this? I'm not sure but I cannot wait another year to get this done. My back is against the wall in a few aspects of my life and I hate it. It will all come together, things always do.

My SIL, Vickie, is in town for a few days and stopped by tonight to visit for a while. She and my BIL moved to TN a year and a half ago and she is sorely missed. I really wish she would come back but I don't know how likely that is. She adores Josh and the feeling is mutual. He lights up when she is around him. We miss you, Vickie!

I am under Investigation??

What the??? Under investigation by my health insurance company. They seem to think I had a preexisting condition of diabetes when applying for coverage with them. Never mind that I have had coverage with them off and on for about 5 years. If I had a preexisting condition, wouldn't I have sought treatment for it prior to now? Anyway, they are now refusing to pay claims while they review my medical records. So, I have been receiving bills from labs and my endocrinologist. My first thought after viewing the endo bill was I wish I could rewind time, go to med school and become an endocrinologist. The charge for my initial visit was $475.00, that was just for meeting with the doctor for about an hour or so. They actually charged $18.00 to prick my finger and check my blood sugar level. Unreal! Completely unreal! The charge for the second visit was $325.00. My lab work was even more expensive. $1250.00 for ONE flippin' antibody blood test. ONE TEST! The grand total from the lab is over $2300.00. I can only hope the insurance company finishes their investigation very soon and pays these claims. Sigh!

I've Been Tagged!

My friend, Bev, has tagged me which means I am supposed to divulge personal information, 7 unknown facts about me, here on my blog. Do I have anything really interesting to share? Let's see...

1. My husband and I were married twice, once in Vegas and again 10 months later in CA followed by a wedding and reception. We celebrate the Vegas date as our anniversary.

2. I was once hit by a car while riding a bike at age 12. I did not stop at a stop sign in an effort to keep up with one of my sisters and her friend. They apparently thought it would be funny to take me to a different neighborhood and leave me there to find my own way home. I was hit by a car, went up in the air, landed on the hood of the car and when he finally stopped, I rolled off the hood onto the pavement. No broken bones just some lacerations. My guardian angel was really on watch that day. Things could have been so much worse.

3. I used to be a personal trainer and fitness instructor. Was actually Fitness Instructor of the Quarter twice at Ballys. I loved it, before I got lazy.

4. Within 3 months of getting my first car, I crashed it into the garage at my parent's house. I lied about it but was quickly busted. My story was sooo lame no wonder I got caught.

5. I have never tried any illegal drug ever in my life.

6. I may have blown the opportunity of a lifetime. Brian McKnight, the singer, was in his car next to me at a light and wanted me to roll down my window to talk to him. I drove off because I was embarrassed because my car did not have power windows. Silly and sooo superficial, I know now. Anyway, he'd just heard me sing several songs at karaoke. Who knows what he wanted to say? I'll never know.

7. I moved to CA in less than one week after making the decision. Decided on a Monday, gave notice to my jobs on Tuesday, sold my stuff Wednesday and Thursday, packed on Friday and was on a plane Saturday morning.

How's that for some now known, tidbits about me. :-)

My Son the Frog

Josh's school has an arts program and for each quarter the children will learn a different art or arts. The first quarter, they were taught yoga and dance. Yesterday, his class had a performance for the parents. He has come such a long way. In preschool and kindergarten, he would be the lone child just standing there not participating and looking at others like they were crazy. Yesterday, he actually volunteered when the yoga teacher asked who wanted to go on stage and show their warm up routine. Later, each child had to mimic an animal. My son was a frog. He was phenomenal, of course, and captured the essence of a frog. :-) I was one proud mama. The audience was then asked to join the children while they taught us different positions and stretches. Josh was so happy and continued to hug, kiss and thank me for coming. He brings tears to my eyes, in a good way. I am truly, truly blessed.

Now to find the cable to my video camera. Sigh! Once I find it, I will post the video.

I did not make my high school reunion and am completely bummed. For weeks leading up to my trip I had been having a weird feeling and sure enough tragedy struck. Also, I found out who my true friends really are. At my age this is an especially hard lesson after years have been invested and then to find out who the person really is. Who knows, maybe my eyes were closed the entire 24 years. Well at least now I know and can move on without drama.

Now here I sit, typing on my blog wondering how everyone is doing there at the reunion, if they are having a great time, who showed up etc. It is my hope that the next reunion is in 5 years instead of 10. Wishful thinking I guess. I even found a great dress on clearance for $8.49. It is so cute. I need to wear it somewhere.

Josh is doing VERY well in school. His teacher is pleased with his progress although she signed him up for reading without letting us know. He does not extra help in reading but she feels reading in front of others besides his classmates will help him become more social. While I have no problem with her attempts at helping him to become more social, she definitely should have told us ahead of time of her idea instead of taking it upon herself to make that decision without discussing it with us. We are his parents afterall. Also, I need to make sure it is clearly noted in his records that he does not in fact NEED extra help in this department.

Thanksgiving was nice. We celebrated early, on Wednesday, because I was supposed to be gone on Thursday. Greg had plans to go to his sister's for dinner with Josh. I told him I was not in the mood to go and instead I stayed home and caught up on the shows on the DVR. It was nice to have some quiet time to myself. Greg said he felt bad about leaving me home. I told him not to feel bad since some alone time is what I wanted. Six whole hours to myself with no work to do, no cleaning to be done and no one asking me for anything. Pure bliss!

I have come to the realization that I watch way too much television and am completely caught up in the shows that preoccupy my time. Here I sit in tears over Jim's death on Ghost Whisperer. Say it ain't so! Can't the writers just make it a bad dream or something. I hate watching shows that make me sad and in tears. I NEED A LIFE! LOL!

Sshhhh!

I just took my prenatal vitamin, folic acid (extra) and baby aspirin. About to board this roller coaster again. Sigh! Hoping, wishing and most of all... praying. The prep now begins, charting and all that other fun stuff that goes along with it. I'm holding on tight to hope. :-)

FINALLY!

YES! FINALLY! Joshua's teacher has finally realized what I have been telling her since the school year started, there is nothing wrong with my son academically. She sat next to him yesterday and watched him complete his classwork. ALL of it. Something has clicked with my boy over the past couple of weeks. He is soooo focused on keeping his card green, participating in class and getting great grades on his tests. We have a good method of teaching and spelling. I spell in a rhythm and he gets it after I spell it about 3 times. He is anxious to read to me when we get home. This is really exciting. Very exciting! He spelled all of his words correctly and his dictation sentence was error free! YES! Woo hoo!

WOW! What a wonderful feeling it is to witness history. I am still in shock that we have a new President Elect- Mr. Barack Obama. We need to keep him in our prayers because God only knows what he will discover once he gets to the White House. That said, I believe he will be a great president. Here I sit and celebrate for those who are not alive to see this and/or never thought this day would come. The country has spoken and decided - 349 electoral votes has been earned. YES, WE CAN!

On August 28,1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said the following on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

That part of your dream was realized last night, Dr. King. The nation did just that.

What a Great Night!

We saw Maxwell last night at the Shrine and what can I say other than it was an amazing concert. AMAZING! From start to finish, every note was smoooth along with every dance step he did. Sigh! I must, MUST see him again. I am sooo looking forward to his new CDs over the next 3 years. It did however take us over 45 minutes to get from the freeway to the parking structure and we missed the opening act, Jasmine Sullivan. I really wanted to hear her sing "Bust the Windows" but what can you do. I did not miss one note of Maxwell's performance. We were all the way in the balcony. I told Greg no more of that. When we go to a concert, we need to do it right.

The Latest

It's been a while since my last posting. I am struggling and I mean struggling with first grade homework. Getting an extremely stubborn and, at times, an unbelievably whiny 6 year old to do copious amount of homework, reading and projects has left me wanting a drink or some drug by the end of our homework/study sessions EVERYDAY. Sigh! It is challenging for me to say the least. God is probably asking "What now?" since I seem to call on Him most between the hours of 3pm to 5pm, usually for strength to get through the 120 minutes of homework with patience and understanding.

Maybe I am old school but when did 6 year olds start getting multiple choice math tests? What the ...? I remember learning how to tell time, addition, subtraction, counting currency etc. all in the first grade but never did we have a comprehensive test. My child gets one every week. I can't say I blame him for zoning out sometimes. That said, we are having him tested for special education. His zoning out has become a problem and we need to get to the bottom of it. The past week has been better but now he thinks he is entitled to pizza every time his card stays green in class. He is determined to keep it green everyday now and I am determined to find another less fattening reward for him cause you know if he has pizza, so do I. :-) Oh, he does excel in spelling and reading so there is a bright side.

I am beyond thrilled to have purchased a roundtrip ticket to New York for a mere $240.00. For the past couple of months I was pricing fares and they were over $400.00. Really could not bring myself to pay that much especially when I usually would pay half of that for a R/T ticket. My appreciation for Priceline.com now runs deep. American Airlines accepted my bid and I am heading home for 5 days. Still can't believe they are charging me to check my luggage but I will get over it. The plans are to visit with my mother as much as I can, catch up with my siblings, enjoy my Aunt Bernice's cooking, meet up with some good friends and attend my 20th high school reunion. 20 years? Wow!

I am excited about the upcoming election. My 78 year old father is campaigning like with the strength and endurance of a 21 year old. It is great to see so many people finally paying attention to the issues.

On the health front, everything is status quo. The MRI results were negative, Thank God. BUT, my glucose test came back extremely elevated and showing I have diabetes? What? I have no signs or symptoms at all. I am seeing a great, great renowned endocrinologist for treatment. He actually said I am insulin resistent and should not be on insulin. Phew! Insulin does horrible things to the body. I am on oral drugs now to and am watching what I eat, minus the occassional green card pizza, exercising and walking daily. My prolactin levels are back down within range. I have also been given a possible diagnosis of PCOS as well along with arthritis. I am on a variety of meds now and feel great overall compared to several months ago.

Greg and I are going to the Maxwell concert in one week. We have not been to a concert since 2001. Way too long! I'm gonna close my eyes and pretend Maxwell is singing to ME. :-) 7 more days!

Starting with the (wo)man in the mirror

So, I have decided to make a change, an overall change in outlook, health and my life. This past weekend included blood draws for diabetes and an MRI to check the size of my pituitary gland because of a hormonal imbalance. Both of these procedures could have been avoided if I took better care of myself. It has been a while since I had an MRI and I completely forgot how small that chamber is. DAMN! As I laid there completely still listening to that jackhammer sound, I cursed myself for not putting my health first and made a promise to myself to make a change. What is the point of having a child if I am not going to do my best to be around for him as healthy as I possibly can be? No test results yet. Hoping and praying tests are negative and this is just my wake up call. I have started working out again and eating healthy. Overall, it is going well. One step at a time, one step at a time.

My child is 6 -GASP!

Sigh! My "baby" is now 6 years old. I cannot believe it. Watching him grow and learn is such a pleasure. We spent his birthday telling stories of his life so far. Josh now stands 4 feet tall and no doubt will be taller than me in no time. Where does the time go?

DNI- Do not intubate

This is what my siblings and I have decided should my mother once again become unresponsive and CPR fails. What a decision to make as a daughter or son. I so wish circumstances were different but what can I do? God has His plan and I don't understand it. What I do know is I miss myself some Edna Mae - her laugh, her smile, her advice but most of all I miss our conversations and calling each other five plus times a day. If I could rewind time, I would go back and not take one moment with her for granted. If only I knew then what I know now... if only.

Our trip to the LA Zoo

For weeks now, Josh has been talking about animals, from the moment he wakes up until the time he goes to bed. It had been quite a while since we visited the Zoo. When I spelled out the word "zoo" , he told me he was not sure what it was but once he wrote it down, his eyes lit up and he was so excited to learn of our trip. The day was rather hot ( over 80 degrees) and it was crowded but overall an absolutely wonderful day. We had a blast. Josh asked so many questions and decided he would take the map and lead the way. He is getting so big and is so funny, not to mention smart. I will attach video and pictures soon.